National Basketball Association Playoff Game Capsules

East Rutherford, NJ (Sports Network) – Jason Kidd, playing despite a knee
injury, had a triple-double by the end of the third quarter and ended with 16
points, 16 rebounds and 19 assists, leading the Nets to a 102-89 victory over
Toronto in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Vince
Carter had 37 points on 15-of-23 shooting from the field for New Jersey,
which took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven set with Game 4 scheduled for
Sunday night at Continental Airlines Arena. Richard Jefferson contributed 18
points in the win. T.J. Ford scored 27 for the Raptors, who also got 14
from Anthony Parker, but he made just 3-of-10 shots.

Final Score: Chicago 104, Miami 96

Miami, FL (Sports Network) – Ben Gordon scored 27 points and Luol Deng added
24 points and 11 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls held off the Miami Heat,
104-96, at AmericanAirlines Arena for a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-
seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Gordon scored 10 of his points
during a game-clinching 21-5 run in the fourth quarter for the Bulls, who
will go for the series sweep on Sunday. Kirk Hinrich added 22 points and
six assists for Chicago, which won a road playoff game for the first time
since Michael Jordan led the franchise to its sixth title in eight years in
1998. Dwyane Wade scored 28 points and nine rebounds, Shaquille O’Neal
recorded 23 points and 13 boards for the defending champion Heat, who held a
double-digit lead before faltering in the final quarter.

Final Score: Golden State 109, Dallas 91

Oakland, CA (Sports Network) – Jason Richardson scored 30 points, as Golden
State, rode the emotion of its first home playoff contest since 1994 with a
surprising 109-91 rout of the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of their Western
Conference quarterfinal series. Baron Davis had 24 points for the Warriors,
who grabbed a 2-1 series lead, and they did it by using an up-tempo offense.
Dirk Nowitzki had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the top-seeded Mavericks, who
continued to struggle against Golden State. The Warriors won all three regular
season meetings and then took the opener of this series before losing their
cool in Game 2, which featured the ejections of Davis and Stephen Jackson.
Game 4 of the best-of-seven set is Sunday night in Oakland.